Bottles thrown and England walks off

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32531, 15 February 1971, Page 1

Bottles thrown and England walks off

(N.Z. Press Association— Copyright) SYDNEY, February 14. The English skipper, R. Illingworth, was warned that he was in danger of losing the seventh test by forfeit yesterday after he led his team from the field, the English manager, Mr D. Clark, said last night.

He said that Illingworth was warned by the umpire, Mr L. Rowan, in the dressing-room that he would have to concede the match by default if he did not return to the field once it had been cleared.

Eleven men have been charged by Sydney police after one of the most sensational incidents ever seen on an Australian cricket field.

Beer cans and bottles were hurled on to the ground where the final test was in progress when the fast bowler, J. Snow, moved into his fielding position after an over in which an Australian bowler, T. J. Jenner, was hit by a rising ball and subsequently helped from the field. A fight broke out among spectators and when police moved in to break it up they too were pelted with bottles and cans.

As Jenner was helped off the field Snow was booed and jeered and told to “get off”. Mr Rowan spoke to Illingworth and appeared to caution the English captain about Snow. Illingworth began gesticulating and appeared to be arguing with the umpire. He said tonight that, he was questioning the umpire’s direction to Snow not to bowl any more bumpers. 10 minutes off

The Englishmen were off the ground for about 10 minutes but the game resumed after the ground was cleared.

In an editorial today the Sydney “Sunday Mirror” said: “Australians should bow their heads in shame over the disgraceful behaviour of spectators.” In the editorial, which was printed on page three of the paper under three pictures showing the incidents, the

“Mirror” said: “The fact that Snow is a fast bowler, and there is always a chance of a fast bowler striking a batsman, went unheeded by the partisan Sydney crowd.

“ ... If Australian crowds continue to behave like this because the lufck of the game goes against one of their favourites, the best thing we could do would be to pull right out of international sporting competition,” the “Mirror” said.

“Boos and booze”

Under a headline “It’s boos, bumpers and booze,” the “Melbourne Herald” sports editor, Jack Cannon, wrote of .the Sydney Cricket Ground’s famous hill yesterday: “Sydney Cricket Ground’s famous hill became the groggiest three acres in Australia. “About 7000 hillites shouted tubes (cans) of beer for each other and shouted encouragement to the Australians and insults to the Englishmen. “Main targets for the crowd’s criticism were fast bowler, John Snow, and English captain, Ray Illingworth, whom the crowd referred to as ‘chief pom’,” Cannon wrote.

He said “police who patrolled the area met with yells of ‘have a go fuzz’.” Illingworth defended his action last night after many people had felt he was wrong to take his players off. “As far as I was concerned one of my players was in danger,” said Illingworth. “I called Snow back to the middle of the field when they started throwing things at him. Later he went back to the long leg fence and a similar thing happened.

“It was unsafe to field down there. Snow could have been seriously cut.”

“When we came off I asked Alan Barnes (the secretary of the Australian board of control) to make an announcement that we would go back on as long as no more bottles were thrown. “By going off we settled the whole thing down in five or 10 minutes. It might have gone on indefinitely had we stayed on the field.” “I remember a similar thing happened when I toured the West Indies in 1959:60. We stayed on and things became much worse.” Illingworth said that he felt Mr Rowan was wrong to have warned Snow for bowling too many short pitched deliveries as a result of the Jenner incident. “The ball that hit Jenner was the only bouncer Snow bowled in the over and I told Mr Rowan so when he issued the warning. “I think the warning helped to worsen the situation,” Illingworth said. Jenner needed one stitch in a small cut Snow described as ridiculous today a report in a Sydney newspaper that he “challenged bottle-throwing spectators to come and fight him” during the seventh test here yesterday. “I did not challenge anyone,” Snow said today. “The report is totally false.” Asked what the spectator who leant over the fence and grabbed his arm said to him, Snow replied: “He could not say anything. He was stone out of his mind.” Mr Donald Carr, the M.C.C. assistant secretary, declined to comment on the incident. “I have had no contact with those in Australia, and to comment from 12,000 miles away is impossible,” he said. “But obviously this is an unfortunate thing to have happened, and I hope it will be happily sorted out by those on the spot.”'